


the long way home

by orphan_account



Category: Given (Anime), Given (Manga)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Feelings Realization, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:55:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23802709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: To his own surprise, Uenoyama agreed to go to Minato Mirai with Sato. After the kiss. After everything.But then again, he'd go anywhere with Sato if he could.or: an alternate version of the confession at minato mirai
Relationships: Satou Mafuyu/Uenoyama Ritsuka
Comments: 4
Kudos: 73





	the long way home

**Author's Note:**

> hey! i just finished watching given last night (or is it early this morning?) and i felt quite a lot of emotions with this anime. so here i offer you a short, alternate version of the scene at minato mirai :D tomorrow, who knows?
> 
> i apologize in advance for any errors! i wrote this without beta reading, as i always do x) i just get so excited!

Uenoyama didn’t know why he always walked Sato home. But he did so anyways.

“Why did you want to come here, Sato?”

They were at the beach. Sato had asked him in the train if he was free to stop by somewhere before heading home, and without fail, Uenoyama had said yes. Yes, he would go. He would be willing to go anywhere if he were with Sato Mafuyu.

Sato started running off towards the ocean, with Uenoyama trailing behind him. Damn, he was a fast runner.

“You better not jump in!” he called to Sato, trying to catch up. The orange haired boy came to a halt by the railing of the bridge, looking out into the horizon and breathing in deeply. Uenoyama, finally caught up, huffed. He was frowning and out of breath, breathing in and out as much as he could to control himself.

“I’ve never been here before. It looks beautiful,” Sato murmured, his eyes sparkling at the swirl of orange, pink, and yellow in the skies. The sun was setting, and its soft glow reflected on Sato’s skin and made his eyes shine brighter. The breeze flew through his shirt and hair, making them sway.

In a trance, admiring Sato and his pure wonder of the world, Uenoyama instinctively reached out and softly tucked Sato’s hair behind his ear. The boy turned to him in surprise, which snaps Uenoyama out of it to pull his hand back to his side as fast as he could. The tips of his ears turned red, either from the cold wind, or from the embarrassment he felt.

It was already hard to hangout with Sato as it is, especially after Uenoyama had kissed him yesterday after the song. He mentally smacked himself in the head. “ _Get a grip, Ritsuka!”_ he screamed to himself. He had to refrain himself from doing such things. It’s no good for him.

“I uh, I’ve been here a few times,” Uenoyama finally replied to him, remembering what he said earlier.

“Hrm.. It seems like a popular date spot,” Sato said nonchalantly, gaze still on the beautiful setting of the sun.

 _‘WHAT?!_ ’ Uenoyama coughed, startled by him. The other slowly moved closer to him. Their hands were touching now, placed on the railing.

Gaze still forward, Sato murmured in a soft voice. “I like you, Uenoyama-kun.”

Uenoyama didn’t know when exactly he had fallen in love with the boy with wild eyes who looked like pinkish orange skies at sunset, or rather, if he _was_ in love with him at all. He didn’t know when he started to feel different whenever he arranged Sato’s hands to play a chord. He didn’t understand why his face would tinge a hint of red whenever Sato looked at him in awe as he would play the guitar. He didn’t know how it was possible to feel so nervous in front of someone with eyes of wonder and forget the next few chords he was meant to play.

But this wasn’t what Uenoyama was hoping for, right? He was interpreting his words wrong. Yes. That’s it. Despite the rumor, he was sure Sato didn’t see him in that way. With the song he sang just yesterday, of course he liked someone else. He wouldn’t have sung a song of heartbreak if he didn’t, Uenoyama concluded.

“You mean…you mean in a friendship kind of way, right?” he tried his best to keep a steady voice in hopes of his true feelings not showing through. He had an inkling of hope; no matter how much he tried to convince himself that Sato wouldn’t like him back, he couldn’t help but hold on to the small sliver of hope anyway. The way Sato uttered those words was so gentle, Uenoyama imagined them come out of his mouth and get blown away by the ocean breeze. He sounded so sincere, and it rang in Uenoyama’s ears like bees buzzing, searching for honey.

“No,” Sato placed a hand over his mouth and closed his eyes, as if he had to think for a moment about what he actually meant by his own words. “I mean, in a romantic kind of way.” He looked out into the horizon.

Uenoyama felt like someone had hit the pause button of a Netflix movie which was his life. The waves stopped crashing, the sea breeze disappeared, and he wanted to scream. He wanted to shout hurrah at the top of his lungs, but he couldn’t move a single muscle. It was like his brain abruptly shut down, failing to assist him in the most trying time.

It was safe to say that in the very beginning of this whole, whatever this was, he wasn’t particularly fond of Sato and his ever so persistent but insanely quiet and reserved attitude. But as Uenoyama thought to himself, perhaps it was Sato’s gentle voice that had perplexed him enough to question himself and whom he thought he could love (or should love). Maybe it was the time they spent together, both in silence or engulfed in the sound of plucked strings echoing by the stairwell; the place they met. Maybe it was the mystery wrapped around him like a warm blanket, which consequentially piqued his interest and desire to get to know him more. Maybe it was the smile that radiated bittersweet happiness whenever he did so, or perhaps it was the way Sato looked at him, bewildered and full of wonder and curiosity whenever Uenoyama would play guitar or talk about music.

“Ritsuka..?”

Maybe it was the way he uttered his name. _Say it again, please._

“What did you say?”

“I like you in a romantic way?” his tone made it sound as if he were asking it, but he repeated it once again in a more confident manner. “I like you. In a romantic way.”

“No, no not that. After you said that,” Uenoyama breathed out. He found it difficult to do what was supposed to be the most natural thing for a human being to do. He held his breath, waiting. Sato’s eyes glinted as he realized what he had meant.

“Ritsuka,” he said in a low voice. It sounded so gentle, so tender, as if he were holding glass in the shape of Uenoyama’s heart. He sounded careful and confident, as if he were walking across a room full of scattered thumbtacks on the floor, avoiding hurt whilst knowing exactly where to step next.

Uenoyama loved him.

“Ritsuka, I like you. I like like you.”

He loved him. His world resumed again, and he loved Sato Mafuyu, the boy with gentle eyes, soft hair, and a heart that had been hurt before. He loved the boy who looked at him with awe, wonder, curiosity, and certainty. He loved him, but he was afraid. It was his first time to ever like someone this much, and a boy, no less. Uenoyama knew that Sato had loved before. He knew Sato has had experience when it came to this, and he was afraid of disappointing him. He was afraid that with a single wrong move, they both would fall apart, and the band would be obsolete. Uenoyama wasn’t sure if he would risk music for the boy with eyes that reflected the sunset in front of them.

“…Ritsuka,” Sato faltered, turning his head to face him. His brows were furrowed, and he had a small smile on his face which showed sadness rather than what Uenoyama was expecting. “It’s alright.” He looked back at the ocean, a breeze blowing through his hair.

Shit. He had taken too long to answer him. “Ah,” he said meekly, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat and Sato slightly turned to him once more. “I’m sorry,” Sato’s face fell.

Uenoyama panicked. “No! I mean,” he rushed, frantic and nervous. He was shaking. The last time he felt like this was when he performed on stage for the first time. “What I meant to say was, I like you too, Mafuyu-kun.”

“Oh. Hrmm,” Mafuyu hummed as if in thought.

“I—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Mafuyu stopped him with what was meant to be a quick peck on the lips, but Ritsuka pulled him back in by instinct. The two were startled by each other’s actions, but was immediately drowned by the feeling of each other’s mouths and noses touching. It was an exhilarating feeling, and once they had pulled away, Ritsuka felt his face grow hotter by the second, amidst the cool wind that had swung by. Mafuyu’s eyes were wide and sparkling, his cheeks tinged a hue of red, and he had a smile on his face. This time, his smile reflected warmth and happiness, far from the usual smile Ritsuka was used to seeing. Far from the smile he fell in love with.

Ritsuka melted. He didn’t know it was humanely possible to fall more in love with the smile etched on Mafuyu’s face. He could stare at him all day.

“I did that to get back at you for yesterday so we’d be even, but given the circumstance of what you just did, I’m afraid I might have to get back at you for that too,” Mafuyu chaffed, which made Ritsuka’s face grow even hotter. He wasn’t sure if he imagined it, but Ritsuka swears he could see steam coming out of his nose. No words seemed to come out of his mouth, no matter how much he willed himself to say something. Anything.

Mafuyu took Ritsuka’s hand into his own, interlocking their fingers together. His touch was rough due to the thickened skin of his fingers, a result of playing the guitar too much. The boy with sunset eyes and calloused fingers had become someone Ritsuka could call his.

“Walk me home, Ritsuka?”

Uenoyama Ritsuka had decided that the boy with a siren-like voice and orange hair was someone he’d risk it all for.

“I’m right beside you.”

**Author's Note:**

> ahhh these two truly make me feel so giddy and kilig! anywho, if you liked it, i would love to see how much you did so by giving kudos and commenting! thank you so much for taking the time to read! (next time i'll try to make it longer, haha)


End file.
